Flight Delays Plague Hong Kong Airport

The installation of a brand new $2 billion dollar ATC(air traffic control) system at Hong Kong International Airport has caused numerous flight delays to plague the airport, as the new ATC systems has proved to be faulty and riddled with software bugs and errors. The airport has been hit with unexplained flight delays for several weeks, with many customers complaining.

However, Simon Li Tin-chiu the director of civil aviation at Hong Kong International Airport reported to the media that the flight delays had been due to an issue with a data compressor, which caused the ATC system not to display details of flights arriving and departing at the airport, for up to one minute.

From South China Morning Post:

The aviation regulator chief said preliminary investigations had shown the system failed temporarily while it was backing up flight data information.

The department last week said radar technology hardware, which supplied information to air traffic control (ATC), was causing issues for the newly-installed Raytheon Auto Trac III system.

Raytheon has been asked to find a fix for the system within 48 hours, and senior executives from the US firm have been asked to meet the civil aviation chief to explain the incident and other teething issues. The department said it is seeking solutions to make the system more reliable.

Mr Tin-chiu also said:

“We will not compromise any flight safety. If we see there is any risk to the system that will cause a safety implication, we will certainly think about switching back to the existing system,” and that “repeat failures of air traffic technology would mean more flights being delayed to safeguard aviation safety.”

If you have suffered from a delayed flight or cancellation from flights either departing or arriving at Hong Kong International Aiport, you can make a claim of compensation and recieve up to £510 within six weeks. Simply visit our homepage and fill out our form.